Operating under the banner of ‘Lifting at a higher level’, Scaldis is a key operator in the wind industry. We asked Linda Vanhaelst, Business Development & Marketing Manager, about the company’s core services and its ambitious plans for 2014…
PES: Welcome to PES. Would you like
to begin by explaining a little about
your company and how you serve the wind industry?
Linda Vanhaelst: Our company is based in Antwerp, Belgium and we are a marine offshore contractor that specialises in offshore transportation and installation
with a core business and expertise in
heavy lifting.
We are active in five distinct market sectors, namely:
• Oil and gas
• Renewables
• Deconstruction
• Civil works
• Heavy lifting related to salvage works
PES: When did you begin working in the wind sector? Is it an area of growth for you?
LV: We started to work in the wind sector seven years ago. The wind industry has been growing rapidly in recent years and we have seen a market developing and maturing with an enormous speed. We feel that this market is still developing further. As the dimensions and weights of substations and foundations increase we, as installation contractors, are facing ever-increasing challenges.
PES: As a firm that’s installed many of Europe’s substations, what’s your on-the-ground assessment of the state of the market at the moment?
LV: Indeed Scaldis has installed a large number of substations (jackets, piles, topsides) for many wind farms such as Lincs, Walney I and II, West of Duddon Sands, Borkum Riffgrund 01 and many others. The renewable market is moving to larger water depths and more challenging ground conditions. This requires increased capacity of the vessels and/or innovative solutions in the installation methodologies. One of Scaldis strengths is to “think outside the box” and to come up with innovative solutions.
